Masters puts in a three for PSU, and I actually hear two different KU fans yell, “Come on, guys” from the stands. Talk about a tough crowd.

Teahan hits a three from the deep corner, and that puts KU over 100.

Buford gets fouled on an offensive rebound with 8 seconds left, and he makes one of two free throws. Each Jayhawk that played tonight scored.

KU wraps up a 103-45 victory. And the funny thing is, it probably wasn’t even that close.

KU 99/PSU 35 — 3:29 left in game

Walk-on Jordan Juenemann checks in for KU at the 7:40 mark. This has to be the earliest action of his KU career.

Chase Buford comes in with 6:15 left, and this will be his first action after sitting out the first exhibition game.

Teahan goes up for a jam but is fouled on the way up. That would have brought the house down had he been able to complete the jam.

Robinson throws in another athletic one-handed jam, and he’s T’ed up after hanging onto the rim a second too long. Robinson starts to head to the bench, but Self motions for him to stay on the floor, as it didn’t look like there was any intent by Robinson to showboat.

Buford fights for an offensive rebound, and he throws across the lane to Robinson for another one-handed slam.

Juenemann is fouled going for a defensive rebound, and he gets the second of two free throws to fall in.

Teahan hits an open three from the left wing, and that’s good to see after his early-season shooting struggles last year.

Collins follows with a three from an identical spot on the floor on the next possession, though his was a bit more guarded.

In transition, Collins finds nearly the same spot on the left wing, swishing in KU’s third straight trey.

KU 80/PSU 24 — 11:20 left in game

Add two free throws from Markieff Morris. Nice touch pass inside by Aldrich, who managed to avoid a pair of PSU defenders.

Aldrich takes on a double-team on the next possession, shooting in a turnaround from eight feet. That’s a 16-0 run for KU.

KU 76/PSU 24 — 12:55 left in game

Robinson and Markieff Morris seem to have a nice chemistry in there. Robinson spins on a post move, but instead of trying a guarded jump, he slipped the ball quickly underneatht the basket to Markieff for a layup.

The next possession, Robinson took a quick move across the lane to the rim and missed the shot, but Markieff was there on the weak side to clean up the mess and put it in for two.

Off a steal, Marcus Morris collects a pass underneath and dunks it, and PSU calls timeout. This one isn’t getting any prettier for the Gorillas.

KU 70/PSU 24 — 15:30 left in game

Taylor zips a pass under the basket to Marcus Morris, who had snuck behind the last defender. Easy two for KU.

The Jayhawks are just choosing which shot they want now. Robinson doesn’t control the ball completely, so he decides against trying to slam an alley oop home. A quick pass nets Collins an open three, though, and Self claps his hands in approval after the shot goes through.

Taylor scoops up another steal, and on the other end, Taylor knocks in a three off an assist from Collins.

The fast-paced tempo forces some sloppiness from both teams. No problem for Self, who shuffles in four new guys.

Robinson overpowers a PSU defender for an offensive rebound, then he gets the putback to fall in with a foul. He pumps his fist a few times after it falls through, and the freshman should be one of the main stories after this one ends.

KU was 21-for-35 from the floor (60 percent), 11-for-12 from the free-throw line (91.7 percent) and 2-for-9 from three (22.2 percent).

PSU was 9-for-23 from the floor (39.1 percent), 0-for-1 from the free-throw line (0 percent) and 3-for-6 from the three-point line (50 percent).

KU has out-rebounded PSU, 19-11. PSU had 18 turnovers to KU’s seven.

KU had 10 first-half steals and six first-half blocks. The Jayhawks had 24 first-half bench points, as compared to 21 total first-half points for PSU.

KU 55/PSU 21 — Halftime

Robinson leaves him man open underneath, but he recovers in time for a one-handed rejection from the backside.

Nice awareness inside by Marcus Morris. After getting it in the post, the forward noticed his man wasn’t guarding him on the baseline. Marcus spun that way with a couple quick dribbles then put a short shot in for two with a foul.

Wow. Go straight to SportsCenter’s top play to find KU’s last highlight. After a steal, Taylor tossed a no-look pass over his head to Marcus Morris, who went straight over a PSU defender for a one-handed tomahawk slam with a foul. Marcus roared his satisfaction into the camera, and Collins waved his hands in the air to bring the entire Fieldhouse crowd to its feet. Everyone is jumping on the bench after that one.

This place is juiced now, and Robinson follows with a steal and a breakaway jam to heighten the frenzy. Two free throws from Robinson, and that’s a 12-0 run for KU.

The potential is just oozing off this team right now. Following a defensive rebound, Xavier took the ball left across the court and forced up a tough baseline shot, getting it to roll in with a foul. Most freshmen wouldn’t have the strength to even get a shot to the rim with that kind of contact, and Xavier not only got it there, he made it.

Johnson finishes off the half appropriately, breaking down a PSU defender before dishing to Aldrich for a slam.

It’s going to be hard for KU fans to not get very, very excited about this team after a first-half display like that.

KU 39/PSU 19 — 3:46 left in 1st half

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that this team still has Sherron Collins. The senior guard makes an athletic move on the baseline to get two points, going around and then under a defender for a leaning layup. Collins then out-hustles a PSU player for a steal, taking it all the way for a layup on the other end.

Reed lobs a nice pass to Aldrich, who drops it in for two. There’s not much PSU can do to defend that play.

KU 31/PSU 14 — 7:57 left in 1st half

Taylor shows some growth as a player on a drive, as after dribbling by two defenders, he pulled up for a short jumper off the glass. A year ago, he probably would have tried to take it all the way to the rim and would have picked up a charge.

Robinson is pulling out all the post moves tonight. Pretty little up-and-under move for him, as he was able to get the PSU defender in the air before leaning to the basket and banking a shot in off the glass. That kind of shot was Nick Collison-esque.

Elijah Johnson steals the inbounds pass and is fouled by PSU. That makes five steals already for KU.

Wow, this team can be fast when it wants to be. Following an airball miss by PSU, the Jayhawks raced up the floor, and Taylor delivered a one-handed pass in traffic to Robinson for a thunder slam.

Following another steal by Taylor, Johnson makes a jumper with a foul.

PSU’s Jordan Embers turns it over again, but this time KU doesn’t capitalize, as Xavier gets a bit too fancy, throwing a no-look pass high and out of bounds. Self simply puts his head in his palm while shaking his head slowly.

Conner Teahan checks in for his first action of the year.

KU 18/PSU 11 — 11:57 left in 1st half

Aldrich draws a crowd inside, and Collins calls for the ball on the wing. Aldrich chooses Tyrel Reed instead, who also is wide open in the corner. Reed swishes the three-point attempt. Xavier also was open at the top of the key, and that just illustrates the benefits of getting the ball to the big man inside.

Great fundamentals by Thomas Robinson inside, as after getting a post feed, he faked to his right then spun to his left, putting in an easy layup off the glass.

KU 13/PSU 9 — 15:21 left in 1st half

It didn’t take long for KU to get Aldich his first touch, as Collins lobs it inside and the big man is hammered on a shot attempt. Aldrich swishes both free-throw tries.

Steals on the first two possessions for KU, and Collins turns his steal into points. He fires a baseball pass upcourt to Xavier Henry, who tossed a no-look feed to Taylor for a layup.

KU works from the inside-out, and a post feed opens up Xavier for an open three that he rattles in.

PSU has hit some tough shots in the earlygoing, making three of its first five shots. PSU’s Rodney Grace outhustles Markieff Morris to an offensive rebound and puts in the stickback to tie the score at 9.

Markieff gets him back on the other end, ripping away a rebound and putting it back in for two. Xavier follows with a steal and breakaway, one-handed tomahawk slam, much to the delight of the KU faithful.

7:02 p.m.

Nice ceremony before the game to recognize PSU coach Gene Iba, who will be retiring after this season following 30 years of coaching. Self presented him with a piece of the old Allen Fieldhouse floor.

The sky shouldn't fall for KU fans if the Jayhawks don't hit the magical victory margin of 36, but I'm sure it still will be used by same to argue that either a) KU is much better than K-State; or b) K-State is just as good as KU.

At this point in the exhibition season, that kind of talk is just a sign that there isn't a whole lot to discuss until the season actually begins.

I went ahead and posted a video above that you need to make sure to check out if you haven't yet. The video shows KU's basketball players during their photo shoot with ESPN the Magazine.

thanks for posting that video Jesse. The instant I got my magazine I went and searched for it on ESPN.com and couldn't find it so I'm glad to finally be able to see it. On a related note, Cole has got to be one of the goofiest people on earth.

Cap10d...thanks for the link. I just added www as the link you provided didn't work.(http://www.justin.tv/sremlahc10) and I have the KU/NDState game from the NCAA tournament. Assuming we will have the game tonight at 7 PM. Thanks for sharing!

The main thing I'm looking for tonight is a team that doesn't appear to be pressing--I mean trying too hard and playing too fast to try to impress the coach and earn minutes--and lets the game come to them. The deep bench could be our own worst enemy if the guys are trying too hard all season. I might be expecting too much this early in the season. Self may have to trim the rotation to 8 or 9 before guys are relaxed enough to stop pressing.

no offense to pitt state, but that looked like when the KU players come to the KU rec and scrimmage against 5'10" guys like me. and aerohawk, if you live in lawrence and have sunflower, they post the game in the free ondemand page.

Really? I'd take either Little or Releford over a Teahan in a heart beat. Sure, they'll help us in practice, but I'd much rather have Mario or Travis out on the court instead of Teahan. Self's offenses don't usually depend on great shooting, so why take this chance? I don't really like to knock a player but this seems to be a no-brainer.

hoops season is here, alleviating football frustrations. no confusion who is "bigger on campus", but that was decided weeks ago. Hawks D looked much better this game and O was out for blood, keep it up.

I don't think it is a question of who you want on the court. Mario and Travis are redshirting because they would not see minutes this year. Teahan probably won't see any increase in minutes regardless of the year he plays.

Yes, the positions Little and Releford play are loaded with talent. I would just rather have those two available in a game and not Teahen. Yet, that's most likely why they are redshirting and I'm sure Self knows what he wants and what to expect from his players. I'm just greedy and I know Little and Releford have much more potential and I'd like to see it sooner rather than later.

I won't argue which team is better but I think the 2007-2008 team was a lot more balanced than this one, plus that starting five was rock solid. Yet, this team has more talent and playmakers overall than that team did. So we'll see.

So far, KU would be significantly better off with big men taking Xavier's 2 point shots inside and with, say, Morningstar taking Xavier's trinities outside.

And Xavier's numbers are against the pitiful Ft. Hays State and Pittsburg State, teams that have no one on their teams capable of playing Division 1 grade defense, and certainly no one capable of handling an NBA body.

We can expect, therefore, that Xavier's shooting numbers will dip a bit lower against Division I competition, at least while he is adapting.

Let us forecast the probable: Xavier's shooting accuracy drops a bit while he learns to play against D-1 competition, and then they climb back up to these early levels against D-2 competition, but not significantly above them.

At what point of the season does Self tell Xavier to stop taking anything but wide-open treys (a la Brady Morningstar) and significantly cut back his 2 point shooting to get the ball in the hands of more efficient scorers like KU's bigs?

In short, when does Xavier become a wonderfully big glue guy, so that Cole and Marcus, Kieff, and perhaps TRob can amp up the scoring efficiency inside?

Also, perhaps someone who has seen the two exhibition games could comment on how well Xavier has been feeding the post? KU needs Xavier to be able to feed the post, whether Xavier is playing glue, or playing go-to guy. Has he been effective feeding the post against the runts from these two D-2 schools? If not, Houston, we may have a nascent problem.

Ever since I read about the disparity in shooting percentages between Xavier's junior year of high school, when he played the whole season and shot a very modest three point percentage, and his senior year, when he only played part of a season and shot a high three point percentage, I have suspected that the trifecta accuracy could prove, at the D1 level, to be the gap in his game. but it never occurred to me that he might be inefficient putting it on the deck.

This will be interesting to watch play out.

If he gets his trifectation up to 40% and his FG shooting up to 48-50%, he's a serious weapon because of his size and strength.

But if he stays at .375 on the trey and .428 from the field, KU just has far more efficient scorers to take the shots than him.

Let's hope and pray Xavier can get his numbers up, so Self does not have to ask Xavier, the OAD, to start playing off-Broadway; that could really wreak havoc with team chemistry.

Can someone explain to me why half the chairback seats on the east side of Allen were empty? I'm sure there are lots of average fans who would love to purchase those seats even to watch Pitt state. If the wine and cheesers arent going to attend, we need a program where those seats become available at a decent price so we can have a section of loud and screaming fans at least for these early games. It seems they could notify Will Call and they could make these available in the last couple hours before the game. I dont mind my rafter seats but I'd love to sit there for a couple games.